Swordfish (Xiphias gladius L., 1758) is an apex predator, highly migratory meso-pelagic fish widely distributed in the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean. As top predators, this fish may be the end reservoir of the bioaccumulation of trace elements in a food chain because they occupy higher trophic levels and are an important food source, causing them to be potentially hazardous to consume. This ...

Background Familial Mediterranean Fever (FMF) is an autosomalrecessive disorder characterized by recurrent attacks of fever and serositis. It is common in eastern Mediterranean population. There are only few FMF patients in Slovenia and Macedonia and the mutation carrier rate is not known. So far, over 80 disease associated mutations have been identified in MEFV gene; the most common are M694V,...

To investigate the origin and maintenance of the genetic discontinuity between Atlantic and Mediterranean populations of the common sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) we analysed the genetic variation at a fragment of mitochondrial cytochrome b sequence for 18 population samples. The result were also compared with new or previously published microsatellite data. Seven mitochondrial haplotypes and ...

The Mediterranean Sea is home to over 2/3 of the world's charter boat traffic and hosts an estimated 1.5 million recreational boats. Studies elsewhere have demonstrated marinas as important hubs for the stepping-stone transfer of non-indigenous species (NIS), but these unique anthropogenic, and typically artificial habitats have largely gone overlooked in the Mediterranean as sources of NIS hot...

Marine caves are widely acknowledged for their unique biodiversity and constitute a typical feature of the Mediterranean coastline. Herein an attempt was made to evaluate the ecological significance of this particular ecosystem in the Mediterranean Sea, which is considered a biodiversity hotspot. This was accomplished by using Porifera, which dominate the rocky sublittoral substrata, as a refer...

[1] Total alkalinity (AT) was measured during the Meteor 51/2 cruise, crossing the Mediterranean Sea from west to east. AT concentrations were high ( 2600 mmol kg ) and alkalinity-salinity-correlations had negative intercepts. These results are explained by evaporation coupled with high freshwater AT inputs into coastal areas. Salinity adjustment of AT revealed excess alkalinity throughout the ...

BACKGROUND The seagrass Posidonia oceanica L. Delile, commonly known as Neptune grass, is an endemic species of the Mediterranean Sea. It hosts a distinctive and diverse epiphytic community, dominated by various macroalgal and animal organisms. Mediterranean bryozoans have been extensively studied but quantitative data assessing temporal and spatial variability have rarely been documented. In L...

Introduction Bivalves from the genus of Mytilus are present throughout the world oceans and seas. Among them, family of Mytilidae is represented with 5 species, from which two are commercially important in Europe: Mytilus edulis (Blue mussel) and Mytilus galloprovincialis (Mediterranean mussel). Mediterranean mussel is distributed throughout the Mediterranean coast, but is also found on the coa...

The variability of bacterial community composition and diversity was studied by comparative analysis of five 16S rRNA gene clone libraries from deep-sea sediments (water column depth: 4000 m) of the Northeastern Pacific Ocean and Eastern Mediterranean Sea. This is the first comparison of the bacterial communities living in these deep-sea ecosystems. The estimated chlorophyll a, organic carbon, ...

The palatability of organic chemical extracts from ten of the most abundant sponge species along the Israeli (shallow) coast, eastern Mediterranean Sea (Axinella sp., Axinella polypoides, Chondrilla nucula, Ircinia sp., Psammocinia sp. 1, Psammocinia sp. 2, Psammocinia sp. 3, Psammocinia sp. 4, Sarcotragus sp. and Tetilla sp.) was tested. To examine the generality of the phenomenon, it was eval...